From SDG-washing to substantive branding: The role of managers’ practical wisdom in the context of SDG 12 in Indonesia
Keywords:
SDG-washing, practical wisdom, ethical branding, brand credibility, SDG 12Abstract
Indonesian companies increasingly link their brands and sustainability reports to Sustainable Development Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production). Evidence from many countries, however, shows that such links often stop at the level of claims: goals are chosen because they flatter the brand, reported without indicators, and not accompanied by changes in practice (SDG-washing). Reporting rules and typologies of washing exist, yet they do not explain why some organizations answer SDG pressure by changing practice while others change only appearance. This conceptual paper addresses that question through a theory adaptation design. Aristotelian phronesis (practical wisdom) and MacIntyre's distinction between practices and institutions are adapted to ethical branding as the domain theory. Three propositions are developed. The stronger marketing managers' practical wisdom, the more likely SDG 12 pressure is to produce substantive responses, that is, aligned claims, practices, and purpose, rather than symbolic responses (P1). Substantive responses raise brand credibility, whereas symbolic responses lower it (P2). The influence of practical wisdom weakens where short-term targets and sales or engagement metrics dominate the organization (P3). The framework moves the explanation of washing from missing rules to the quality of judgment and institutional conditions, and offers guidance for marketing managers, regulators of sustainability reporting, and future research in Indonesia.
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